Many conventional call management and voice messaging systems include interactive voice response (IVR) systems through which incoming callers may attempt to reach a user serviced by the call management and/or voice messaging system. Such systems may further allow users to record personalized greetings that are played by the IVR system to incoming callers at various stages of call management and/or voice messaging functions (e.g. “I'm not at my desk right now, but if you'd like to leave a message, press 1”). However, personalizing an IVR system is often a difficult process if it is accomplished solely through the use of the IVR system itself, or even through use of another “personalization specific” IVR interface. This is because it may be difficult for users to grasp concepts or follow detailed directions if they are expected to just passively listen to an audio presentation. What can happen is that users will listen to an IVR presentation over and over again until they are finally able to understand what is expected of them (quite a frustrating experience), or just give up in disgust. One problem is that audio presentations are linear by nature, and are often very structured, thus allowing users little flexibility when it comes to understanding what is being presented. Audio presentations also force users to proceed at a pre-defined pace, one that may be too fast, or equally annoying, too slow for the user listening to the presentation.
The above problems may be exacerbated when the structure and number of options presented by the IVR, and for which personalized prompts can be recorded, can themselves be changed (i.e. by adding or deleting call management and/or messaging options). This may require reconfiguring the IVR to allow users to personalize their greetings, and may require users to repeat the frustrating experience of learning how to, and then re-recording their personalized greetings.